The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) told Parliament on Monday that it has unclaimed maturity amounts of Rs 880.93 crore for the year 2023–2024. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha in a written response that up to 3,72,282 policyholders failed to collect maturity benefits in the financial year 2024, news agency PTI reported.
How can you check unclaimed amount in LIC?
The following details are needed to check if you have any unclaimed amount in your LIC policy:
- LIC policy number
- Policy-holder’s name
- Date of birth
- PAN card
If any LIC policyholder or a beneficiary wants to know whether any amount under his/her LIC policy is lying unclaimed with the insurer, he/she can do so by entering following details.
Step 1: Visit LIC website- https://licindia.in/home
Step 2: Click on Customer Service and select ‘Unclaimed Amounts of Policy Holders’
Step 3: Enter details such as policy number, name (mandatory), date of birth (mandatory), and PAN card details.
Step 4: Click on ‘Submit’ to get details.
Steps to reduce unclaimed and outstanding claimsLIC has taken various steps to reduce unclaimed and outstanding claims including print media and digital media advertisement apart from radio jingles for policyholders to claim their due amounts.
Pankaj Choudary said the claim settlement procedure is streamlined and that only valid NEFT is needed to complete the claim. He also added that agents and development officers follow up with policyholders on a regular basis to ensure they meet the requirements and submit their claims.
What are the rules about unclaimed accounts?
If any money is left unclaimed for more than 10 years, the entire amount is transferred to the Senior Citizen Welfare Fund, and such funds are used for the benefit of senior citizens, as per rules.According to an IRDAI circular on unclaimed amount, “Unclaimed Amounts” shall include any amount held by insurers but payable to policyholders or beneficiaries, including income accrued thereon, remaining unclaimed beyond six months from the due date or settlement date of such amount, whichever is earlier.
Why are unclaimed deposits on the rise?
According to the IRDAI circular dated February 15, 2024, “Basis discussion with the insurers it is to understand that one of the reasons for the increase in the unclaimed amounts are cases where the consumers are traceable but insurers are not in a position to pay the claim for various reasons, including:
- due to any litigation under an insurance policy;
- due to rival claims or open title
- due to the freezing/blocking of insurance policies by any government agency where benefits payable during the policy with respect to the insurance policies which are in-force either by reduced paid up or by full paid-up policies on due date, but shifted to unclaimed due to a six-month window for payments;
- consumers have not claimed annuity options and maturity proceeds from pension and insurance products;
- consumers out of the country and hence taking time to settle the proceeds;
According to the IRDAI circular, “Every Insurer shall display the information about any unclaimed amount of Rs. 1000/-or more on their respective web-sites. Such display of information of unclaimed amounts shall continue even after completion of ten years.
